The Grand Isle Port Commission created a harbor police department without legislative authority nearly three years ago and failed to conduct adequate background checks of reserve officers, who were issued badges and carried guns, according to the Louisiana inspector general.

Two harbor police had criminal histories, including Chief Wayne Keller, who also works as the port commission's executive director, Inspector General Stephen Street Jr. said in a report released this week. In addition, police officers lacked proper training in law enforcement and the department failed to carry liability insurance, Street said.

"The Commission's creation of a police department and commissioning of armed law enforcement officers carried with it considerable liability,'' Street wrote in the report.

Keller, who was appointed police chief by the Port Commission, said he suspended the department's operations in October. While agreeing with some portions, Keller disputed several charges in the report, including the assertion that the police agency was created without proper authority. A state law that would allow the commission to do so is ambiguous, so the commission sought an opinion which has not been rendered by the state Attorney General, Keller said Thursday in an interview.

He said that demand from the public led to the creation of the all-volunteer harbor force. He said that most of its equipment was donated from police chiefs and sheriff's who were trying to help the agency.

"We tried to do the best we could with a very, very small amount of resources,'' Keller said. "With 1,100 people on the island, it's not like we had thousands of people on the island to pick from.''

Keller also defended his record, saying that he has no felony convictions. The arrest stemmed from an incident in which was defending himself following a traffic accident in which two men charged after him.

In his written response to the Inspector General's office, Keller also noted that "These histories are purportedly only arrests and not convictions. In light of the status of the histories being only arrests, and the corrective action of the suspension of the department, it is requested that this information be removed from the report as being irrelevant.''

Street said that Keller was charged with menacing and a traffic violation during a September 1992 traffic accident in Ohio. The inspector general's report said that Keller pulled a machete from his car, "displaying it in a threatening manner causing a victim in the case to fear for his safety.''

Baton Rouge police arrested reserve officer Joel Bradberry in August 2004 as a principle to possession with intent to distribute steroids, the report said.

Keller also disputed Street's assertion that officers were not properly trained. Keller said officers had training through the Grand Isle police and fire departments. Further attempts to provide additional training were hampered by the fact that most of the volunteers had other paying jobs, making scheduling difficult.

While Street said that the harbor police duplicated services already being provided by a number of agencies, including the State Police, the Coast Guard, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and the Grand Isle Police Department, Keller said that a harbor police agency was needed during the peak tourism season, when personnel and resources are limited.

Street made a number of recommendations, while the commission seeks an opinion from the attorney general on whether it could establish a harbor police department.

--Andrea Shaw can be reached at ashaw@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3780.